#when he thought about how curing Bruce was unfair to the Hulk

[daydreamerdrew]

The Incredible Hulk (1968) #275

[originaljediinjeans]

MCU Rewatch: The Avengers (2012)

I cut out a lot from the individual character metas but it’s still pretty long and IDK how to summarize, maybe just read the bolded text for some of the juicier points

LOKI: Unpopular opinion, I do not believe that Loki was directly mind-controlled by Thanos. I don’t care if it’s “canon.” However, there is no denying that Thanos hurt and tortured Loki. Whatever he went through, it was bad enough that Loki agreed to cooperate. But Loki thinks he 100% deserves a planet to rule of his own after being kicked out of Asgard when he was the “rightful ruler”. (Who thinks that when they’re being mind controlled, really?) He must have done some real persuasion to convince Thanos that he could bring him the Tesseract and that he would not fail. But even then the Other is really hard on him. Loki is doing someone else’s bidding and he knows it. And he tugs at the leash. But he’s “come too far”--been tortured too much--to fail.

Loki as the villain of this film is perfection. And the scene with Natasha blows me away every time. The montage during his speech just syncs with it perfectly. Poetic cinema, as they say, but in the most literal and professional sense of the phrase.

My headcanon ever since the first time I saw this movie is that Loki can read the minds of Midgardians. Even if Barton told him everything (which I might not sure is even possible), Loki being slightly psychic is still cooler. Loki in this movie is freaking SCARY. (but that’s why he’s great, give Tom Hiddleston an Oscar already, Hollywood what is wrong with you?)

Who is the Other? He kind of reminds me of the Mouth of Sauron in LOTR. Is he another sick, twisted sycophant who believes in Thanos’ cause? Of course. He is proud to represent Thanos, and what’s more, acting creepy and giving people poetic threats is his way of doing his job: intimidating people into cooperation. Well, not like it matters much. I laugh every time I watch GOTG and Ronan kills him.

Coulson’s murder made Loki a murderer

I love Loki but I still want to punch him for what he did to Barton and Selvig and not to mention Coulson and just doing lots of bad things for bad reasons and I hope when I do punch him that it hurts, I don’t care if he’s a fictional character I’m going to punch him

THOR: Asgard must have some kind of dope intelligence system. They knew about the Chitauri–they didn’t know where they were from or who they were working for, but they knew enough and Thor knew enough to figure that he’d better get Loki before it got out of control. Also, the rest of the universe knows that one  paramilitary organization on a small planet was experimenting with an Infinity Stone a really powerful energy source to use as a weapon. So Thor going to Midgard isn’t just about getting Loki: it’s making sure that a world under Asgard’s “protection” isn’t overrun by an invading army. And don’t forget, Thor has officially designated himself the Earth’s protector–he’s willing to share that responsibility with the Avengers, after these events. Willing enough to go search the universe for answers about the Infinity Stones. Maybe after Infinity War he regrets that.

Thor admits to Coulson for being embarrassed for himself and his people because of all the destruction and chaos Loki has caused

The moment when they’re in New York and Thor and Steve are taking a break–that’s when they bond. Other people see Steve Rogers as a mere wooden soldier but Thor recognizes a kindred warrior spirit. Thor and Steve’s friendship is criminally underrated and has a heinous lack of screentime.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: I have to admit, on this viewing Steve’s characterization seemed a little wooden to me. But it makes sense if you keep in mind that Steve is under stress about being in a new place and time. 

I’ve always liked Steve’s uniform in this one, even though it’s not very popular or not as “cool” or practical as some of the others. What I dislike, though, is the helmet. The more it’s off, the better.

Steve actually doesn’t deal with stress that gracefully 

I hate to say this, but Steve walks away from this movie with a deep-seated mistrust of Tony Stark and it’s only going to get bigger and get worse

I can’t help thinking of this famous saying: “It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, rather than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

All of the above considered, Steve Rogers went through a lot of crap during the War. And it wasn’t all just fighting Hydra. He must have led the Commandoes on other not closely related missions, too. But he’s been in a lot of different situations. He knows how much bad there is in the world. He knows what kind of people want to take over the world. That’s why he isn’t taking crap from anyone. 

And even if Steve isn’t psychic he sees right through Loki. Steve and Loki don’t get much screen time together but Loki knows how Cap feels about him and it bugs him. And that’s why Steve is so pushy about wanting Tony and Bruce to stay on task because he knows Loki and Loki’s accomplices are up to no good and they need to stop it 

Cap actually has been on some pretty bumpy plane rides.

I agree with the fandom that it is unfair that someone as young as Steve (only like 25 years not counting the ice) is pushed into a lot of leadership positions. But he gets called on to lead because he has that wartime experience. He knows how to lead a team, he knows how to fight battles of all sizes. And being a leader, Steve knows when and when not to trust the people in charge. I think Tony takes a cue from him when he deals with Loki.

IRON MAN: Between Iron Man 2 and when Avengers opens, Tony is actually Living his Best Life(TM) with Pepper and the fact that the events of this film ends it forever kills me. 

When he sees the portal open and the Chitauri coming out, the response “Right–army” sounds cute but he’s genuinely terrified. He’s already bruised from his brief encounter with Loki when he literally flies into the Mark 7.The longer the battle goes, the worse it gets.

The Nuke: Tony made his fortune building/designing weapons and then he stopped when he saw that they were being used to kill innocent people. The government ordering a nuclear strike on Manhattan is horrifying to him. He figures out a good way to get rid of it and stop the Chitauri. He doesn’t let go until he’s absolutely sure that it’s over, regardless of the cost to himself.

Summary: Tony goes from being in a good place to a bad one. There are some things even shawarma cannot cure.

Tony already knows Bruce Banner’s history and has studied his scientific work. Tony already knows about all the crap that Banner has been through. Tony relates to what Bruce has been through. He validates both the Hulk and Banner. The science bros are actually a really big deal and they mean a lot to me. 

I am so glad Pepper was in this movie and I am so glad that Pepperony exists so help me if the Russos kill off Tony in Endgame–

Steve and Tony really almost got into an actual fight in that lab scene. They really did. 

I never got the line “We are not soldiers” until this time around. He’s referring to those airmen in Afghanistan who died in vain to protect him from the terrorists that kidnapped him. He doesn’t want to think that of himself, or anyone else of the Avengers, or even Coulson. I wonder if maybe to an extent he can’t deal with the guilt or the mentality of going to war. Golly, figuring that out is a gut punch.

THE HULK: I don’t really feel like there’s much to say about Bruce this time around. Except that I’m so proud of him for actually going to Calcutta and helping people who needed help. I’m glad that SHIELD wanted him for his expertise and not just the Hulk. He is happy to be used for his knowledge. And meeting Tony Stark was probably the best thing to ever happen to him. 

Even the Hulk cares about Tony–the Hulk likes Tony Stark/Iron Man better than he likes Bruce Banner.

BLACK WIDOW: Natasha has a legitimate fear of the Hulk and it’s actually kind of incredible that she did get past that. If there was something in this film about Natasha’s fear versus the Hulk that was supposed to be continued in Age of Ultron, bad writing killed it. Either that or there wasn’t enough exposition.

There’s an implication, with how Natasha is the first of the big 6 shown, how she’s asked to go find Banner, that Fury and Coulson kind of looked to her as a leader or co-leader for the Avengers. Would her responsibilities include bringing and keeping them together? Yes.

Natasha still thinks about the big picture during the battle. She knows that her teammates have limits. She knows what they’re up against. 

I think she does get kind of scared when she’s riding the Chitauri chariot thing and she’s trying to control it. It’s not an easy task and there’s also speed and the risk of falling.

Clint and Natasha’s relationship is amazing. It’s one of the best things about this movie and it’s a travesty we don’t really see this again in the MCU (holding out hope for Endgame). They talk and fight and work together like they’ve known each other for years. She looks up to him because he helped her change her life. And now he looks to her because she saved his.

HAWKEYE:  I just…need more Clint Barton in my life. Seriously he is so cool. Like he really needed a stand-alone movie in Phase 2. He just deserved better period and by that I mean more screen time. Maybe it wouldn’t have worked for him to have been in Cap 2 but he needed something.

COULSON: Agent Phil Coulson is the heart and soul of this movie. 

The Stark Tower visit: Pepper calls him “Phil,” she notices that he looks shaken (even though it’s hard for even me to tell). She asks Phil about the Cellist and Tony offers to even fly him out to Portland to see his SO–do you know how much plane tickets cost that is huge. It is more than safe to assume that Phil has kept in touch with Tony and Pepper and even come over to hang out. Like enough that Pepper can read his moods. Good grief Pepper must have been destroyed when she found out.

Despite the initial bureaucratic unfairness, what if Coulson has kept in touch with Jane and Darcy? Maybe been a liaison to SHIELD for them. Did he suggest to SHIELD that they recruit Selvig?

Coulson is naturally a friendly person, and Thor is comfortable enough with him to talk about his concerns about Loki. Like they are friends. Like THOR WATCHES HIS BROTHER STAB AND KILL THE SON OF COUL, CHAMPION OF MIDGARD, AND HE WILL LIVE WITH THAT FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. 

If Steve Rogers thought he’d escaped the Captain America fans boy was he wrong

But more importantly, Captain America is Coulson’s hero and Steve knows it. When Coulson dies, Steve knows that it was because he was trying to stop Loki and that Coulson was a good man.

Do you see why I want to/am/should be writing fanfiction about Coulson?

Coulson also knows Nick Fury very well. I would go so far as to say that on a certain level they are like brothers, even. Gosh they better get quality screentime in Captain Marvel! 

Of course Coulson has known Clint and Natasha for years, maybe even as long as they’ve been at SHIELD. You hear the concern in Coulson’s voice when he tells Nat that Barton’s been compromised. It’s redundant to say this but it’s audible. He knows what Clint means to Natasha. He’s probably one of the 5 people who know about Clint’s family, maybe Phil is friends with Laura. And it’s implied that he has a personal relationship with Clint. 

TL;DR Phil Coulson genuinely cares about the Avengers individually and as a group. He probably knows about Steve, Tony, and Banner more than they know each other by the end of the film. He knows that they’re the only real line of defense. He knows that the guys and Nat are capable of doing great good. He believes in heroes .Nick Fury tells them as much in his pep talk and for dramatic effect he uses the cards. Subtext: Coulson cared about you guys. He believed in you. And he wanted you to go kick Loki’s butt. Phil Coulson just really cares about people no matter how well he knows them. And I love him for it.

NICK FURY: Knowing what we know now--because Coulson and Fury will be in Captain Marvel which takes place 15-ish years earlier--Coulson and Fury in this movie already know that there are bad ETs and they play rough. Even after the Chitauri are finished, Fury knows that this is just the beginning. He may have even suspected that Loki didn’t get that army on his own. That explains why Nick Fury asked the World Security Council to approve Insight. And the Dark Elves in Thor TDW may have made it more urgent.

You have to keep in mind, though, that Nick is under pressure from the Pinheads on the World Security Council and Hydra sleepers working under him

Nick is no stranger to pressure, however. He knows what he’s doing. 

“I was playing something even riskier.” Riskier than weapons because people with superpowers can’t always be controlled or at least do what you want or even ask. Riskier because he suspects (rightly) that they won’t always get along. And that if they do disagree they may turn on each other. Riskier because people with superpowers cause destruction, sometimes more than they can fix. But always less than they prevent if they can do their job. 

The events of Civil War may not have been that surprising to him as he watched from a distance wherever. He may have been quietly rooting for Cap. Or even worked with the Secret Avengers...where was I?

(Not that he doesn’t love Tony)

I actually appreciated Nick more on this viewing

Nick Fury is, in fact, the Main Character of The Avengers. We just didn’t realize it until now.

SHIELD AND MISCELLANY: I may need to watch this movie again soon because the peanut gallery that is My Family made it kind of hard to watch

But one of my brothers suggested why not have Cap hook up with Maria Hill? I admit it’s intriguing but they don’t actually have that much interaction in this film or in CATWS. Ships have sailed on more shallow waters but I don’t think this one floats for me.

The soundtrack is perfect, a great blend of dramatic epic themes with spy movie beats, with some chilling backdrop music to set a sinister tone for Loki.  Alan Silvestri’s best work.

THE AVENGERS THEME MUSIC IS MAGNIFICENT, IT DESERVVES AS MUCH ATTENTION AS THE STAR WARS THEME 

Infinity Stones do what they want. 

Infinity Stones are also connected and that might be important in Endgame.

This is still one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. Still one of the best movies ever made period. Granted, you have to have seen the other movies for it to make any emotional sense but The Avengers is a masterpiece. Every character interaction has weight. Every detail is connected. The storytelling here is matchless. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it as fact. 

Age of Ultron was just so “bad” that the rest of y’all forgot how good The Avengers is.

I would love to see this movie on a big screen again one day. Maybe a summer drive-through. It might be the only MCU movie besides GOTG that would be appropriate for that.

Jane Foster isn’t stupid y’all. She would have figured out something was up when SHIELD shipped her to consult at a remote observatory. The moment she saw Thor on the news her suspicions would be confirmed, when she heard about Coulson and Loki she would be even more hurt and confused about why Thor didn’t even at least look her up to say hello

The Original 6 Avengers are bonded in a way but they’re not really a family. 

Actually they are but they aren’t at the same time, it’s hard to describe. Even when they spend more time later and build a working relationship they aren’t quite the family some of them think they are. Some of them are part of each other’s families but they’re not really a solid unit. Age of Ultron and Civil War split them along the subgroup lines that are already there.

Eric Selvig looks like a mess when he comes out from the mind spell. Is he ever okay again?

The guy who found Banner in the abandoned hangar may have seen aliens before.

While Thor opened up the MCU to “other worlds” it was really The Avengers that established that there was an entire UNIVERSE beyond where the Avengers were from--beyond even Asgard and its conquests--full of worlds that had lots of alien races--and plenty of them could pick a fight with a puny blue planet of people with relatively primitive technology if they wanted to. I think GOTG establishes that most don’t. But some still do.

I really don’t think there’s anything to compare with being on a movie set where Robert Downey Jr has been turned loose.

I still think Loki should have had that drink and I hope he did

Coulson might one day forgive Nick Fury for doing what he had to do--but those trading cards were in near-mint condition. Sheesh.

Well, that’s down to ten pages from around what could have been sixteen.

[headquartersforlievmuses]

► Scott Lang

Scott Edward Harris Lang was born and raised in Coral Gables, Florida, the son of Bob Lang. He later became an electronic engineer and met and married Peggy Rae. Together they had a daughter Cassandra "Cassie" Lang. Although he was an electronics expert he could not support his family doing repair work, so he turned his talents to burglary. Apprehended, he served his prison sentence and was paroled for good behavior. During his time in prison, however, Peggy divorced him. Lang had furthered his studies of electronics while in prison and was soon hired by Stark International to work in its design department.

Scott Lang is a former professional criminal who, despite trying to go straight to raise his daughter, was convinced by Hank Pym to take on the mantle of the Ant-Man. He fought against Pym's former protégé, Darren Cross, who had gone insane while trying to recreate the Pym Particles, leading to Lang having to defend his friends, family and the world as the Ant-Man. When all of the Avengers separated into two separate factions over the Sokovia Accords, he was recruited to Captain America's side by Falcon. Though given a chance to back out as the faction would be working outside of the law, Lang scoffed at the warning; being a wanted man was hardly a new experience for him. Lang was subsequently arrested following the Clash of the Avengers before being freed from the Raft by Captain America.

When his daughter Cassie was diagnosed as having a serious congenital heart condition, Lang sought the aid of surgeon Dr. Erica Sondheim. Desperate to help his daughter, Lang decided to return to thievery.

Scott had earned a master's degree in electrical engineering. With his skills he would often steal from criminals and give back to those they had stolen from. Lang married a woman named Maggie sometime before 2008. Maggie was very supportive of Lang, but disliked his robberies, albeit from criminals. The couple later had a daughter they named Cassandra "Cassie" Lang. Wishing to support his own family, Lang promised his wife that he would stop stealing after Cassie's birth.

Tony Stark recruited Scott to find out who Justin Hammer really is. When Dr. Bruce Banner asked Iron Man to help him either be cured or killed. They design a nuclear-powered regulator that would allow him to control his heart beat preventing transformations into the Hulk. Scott Lang and Erica Sondheim successfully implant the device in Banner's chest. After exposing Banner to the emotional overlord inducement generator they are convinced that the regulator will keep the Hulk reigned in from now on. However, this was not the case. Tony, Scott, and Sondheim restrained Banner's transformation, ending with Sondheim's use of sound waves to return Banner to normal. Iron Man directs Sondheim to remove the regulator from the Hulk's chest before he wakes up. Unfortunately, Stark is dealing with his own health crisis, leading Scott to shrink into the Iron Man armor in order to save Tony's life.

Lang discovered that Vistacorp was overcharging their customers. At first, he thought it was simply a coding error and changed it. He then realized the company was intentionally doing this to their customers for financial gain when Geoff Zorick, ordered Lang to revert his many corrections before firing him. Angered by VistaCorp's larceny, Lang broke into the VistaCorp headquarters to hack their systems and pay back the money to Vistacorp's customers. He then broke into Geoff Zorick's Mansion and stole a few items before he got carried away and drove Zorick's car into the mansion's pool.

Lang was arrested and given a three year sentence in San Quentin State Prison. The Langs divorced following his incarceration, and Maggie eventually became engaged to Jim Paxton. Lang became very close to his cellmate, Luis, who was released the year before Lang was set to be. During his time in prison, Lang vowed to never get involved in crime again and focus his attention on helping to raise Cassie.

A day before his release from San Quentin State Prison, Lang was interviewed by Christine Everhart at WHiH Newsfront. They talked about the reason behind his heist at Vistacorp; however, Lang felt that the news station was being unfair, due to Vistacorp being one of their financial backers. His animosity towards the remarks made by the seemingly biased news anchor, caused him to slam his hand onto the desk in frustration, resulting in him getting tased.

On July 17, 2015, Lang was released for proper conduct during his stay in the San Quentin State Prison. Before being pardoned, Lang underwent a traditional good-bye ritual where he fought an inmate called Peachy. Lang allowed Peachy to hit him hard across the jaw and successfully stayed on his feet, he then retaliated by hitting his friend in the stomach, which Peachy did not react to. Lang then attempted to distract Peachy and punched him, still failing to knock him down before he and the prisoners embraced.

Having said his goodbyes, Lang was finally escorted out of prison, having been freed in the wake of robbing Vistacorp and allowed to have his freedom at last. Being taken outside by two armed guards, Lang was then picked up by Luis. The pair happily embraced before Luis questioned how Lang had gained a cut across his eye, with Lang explaining it had come from Peachy while Luis recalled gaining his own scar from his goodbye punch from Peachy and boasting that he was the only one to ever knock him out with a single punch while they both got into his van to leave.

The following day back at the Milgrom Hotel, Lang was alone in the apartment and looking himself in the mirror, considering what he should do next. Taking some time to look at what he stole, Lang studied the Pym Particles, unaware of their power before examining the Ant-Man Suit and it's helmet, still assuming them to just be motorcycle gear.

Seeing that the suit was about his size, Lang then checked the suit and tried it on, standing in the bath to get a better look as he began admiring himself in the mirror. Looking over the suit's design, Lang saw buttons on each glove and began experimenting with them, while nothing happened when he pushed the one on the left glove, he pushed the one on the right, suddenly shrinking to a minuscule size, with even the plug hole of the bath appearing much larger than he was. He promptly fell a great distance into the tub, frightened by his new perspective as he tried to figure out what had just happened and how this could be possible.

To begin their training, Hank Pym then gave Lang the task of running towards a closed door and jumping through the key hole while tiny, then use the Pym Particles to return back to normal size; this was the first test of mastering how to alter size with the Ant-Man Suit at the right time. While Lang remained confident, he failed time after time again, much to the annoyance of both Hope van Dyne and Pym. Hope was secretly amused by Lang's failings, as she believed that she would have done better than all of his failed attempts.

For all the physical parts of stealing the Yellowjacket Suit, Lang had to prepare himself for knocking out the guards as he made his way to the suit. He was then trained by Hope van Dyne. She explained to Lang that the wearer of the Ant-Man Suit must control their strength or they could kill. Hope said she would teach him how to punch but Lang scoffed at this, noting he was in San Quentin State Prison for three years for robbing Vistacorp so he knew how to punch, having hit Peachy on his way out.

Being taken into the basement, Hank Pym told Lang that while he was still learning how to control the Ant-Man Suit, it was also time that he met and mastered controlling his most important allies for their mission, the Ants themselves. Donning the Ant-Man suit, Lang was sent into the Pym Residence garden to explore the tunnels created by the ants while Hope van Dyne and Pym watched him from the sidelines.

Hank Pym sent Lang to retrieve a device from an old building that was used by Howard Stark, citing that this device would later assist Lang in stealing the Yellowjacket Suit. However, it turned out Pym's intel was long-outdated, as this "storage facility" had since been converted into the Avengers' new base. Pym told Lang to return to San Francisco. Instead, Lang decided to go to the facility anyway and landed on the roof leading to an encounter with Falcon, who was guarding the facility. Despite believing his small size would keep him undetected, Lang found that Falcon's goggles were able to zoom in on him.

Months later[5] Jim Paxton invited Lang to have dinner with the family so he could spend time with Cassie Lang, who had adopted the dog-sized ant as a pet, as payment for saving his daughter's life. During the meal Paxton told Lang that he would not be arrested as it had been decided that a glitch in the system had caused his earlier release. Lang thanked Paxton personally for this action, knowing that it put his own career on the line, but Paxton insisted he was happy to do it to help out Cassie's father.

Lang was recruited by Clint Barton during the resulting fallout caused by the Sokovia Accords, to support Steve Rogers and his team. Lang arrived in Berlin by van and was introduced to Captain America and the rest of the team, showing a great deal of excitement at meeting Rogers and the Scarlet Witch among others. He thanked Rogers for choosing him to assist during this skirmish, noting Rogers likely had other choices.

Lang continued to aid his superpowered colleagues as needed, such as joining other Avengers associates in infiltrating the base of the Avengers' enemies of the Triune Understanding, although this turned out to be a ruse by the Triunes to discredit the Avengers. He also helped the Avengers against the threat of the villain Kang the Conqueror, who nearly succeeded in conquering the world. After overthrowing Kang's would-be regime, the Avengers offered Lang a place on the roster, and he agreed.

Scott dated Jessica Jones, the super-heroine named Jewel who left to become a private investigator. He assisted her in a matter with Mattie Franklin, one of the many female heroes to take the Spider-Woman identity. Assisting the duo is S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clay Quartermain. Their relationship ended when she revealed that she was pregnant with Luke Cage's baby.

Powers

Pym Particles: Scott is able to reduce himself to the size of an ant, approximately one-half inch in height, by means of a rare group of sub-atomic particles, the source of which is as yet unknown, which he is able to contain in magnetic-field "canisters" (the shape of the magnetic lines of force were made visible by the confined particles, whose concentration caused them to behave like a gas).

These particles, whose wavelength is in the mental range when released, allow Ant-Man to will himself and other objects to reduce in size or enlarge. The mechanics involved having most of the mass of the nucleus of each affected atom convert into energetic particles which take up orbit around the nucleus - thus, although gravitons do not affect these particles, the mass of the original volume remains intact.

This means a punch delivered by the half-inch high Ant-Man would feel like the blow of a normal-sized man. Ant-Man's reducing particle has no time limit to its potency.

Verses

tba

[daydreamerdrew]

Captain America (1968) #111 and The Incredible Hulk (1968) #269 and #278

Rick feeling worthless if he can’t measure up to Bucky reminded me of these moments where the narrator wondered if Rick- who had protesting that it was unfair to the Hulk to cure Bruce of him without asking how he felt about it, and that the world needed the Hulk- is actually motivated by that he had “come to define his life in terms of a sidekick to the Green Goliath.” And then how, after Bruce took control of the Hulk’s body, something Rick had previously suggested when he was trying to get Bruce to not be so dead-set on a completely cure, Rick wondered if Bruce would “have any use” for him anymore.

I don’t think Rick had had any inclination to put himself in the sidekick to a superhero role until he met the Hulk. Obviously his guilt and feeling of responsibility over Bruce becoming the Hulk played a role there, and then I think Rick developed a feeling of responsibility to keep Steve stable in their early relationship, when Steve was still adjusting to the future and life without Bucky. But what I also think played a role in laying the groundwork for this cycle is Rick’s directionless before all of that, and that there wasn’t really anyone in the world that cared about him, from his backstory that’s portrayed in The Incredible Hulk (1968) #268.

Rick’s early relationship with Bruce was an intense experience in being needed, but that relationship was unhealthy. And then he met Steve, who he was immediately very impressed with, thought he was “the greatest guy I’ve ever met,” and tried to make a similar type of relationship work there.

I also want to note that being like Captain America or Bucky is a pretty high standard for Rick to hold himself to.

Also, while I was looking for those panels I found this moment from when Rick and Betty had a fight because he was upset that she was upset that Bruce was controlling the Hulk’s body rather than being entirely cured of the Hulk, and she used similar language that Rick’s using above to insult Rick:

The Incredible Hulk (1968) #277